Building Employee Referrals: An Iterative and Outcome-Oriented Approach
Personio
The initiative wasn’t originally planned in the roadmap and had to be approached pragmatically. Within just seven weeks, we delivered an MVP-sized version of employee referrals, which saw strong adoption and rounded out the feature offering in Recruiting.
My Role
Responsible team designer, driving the project. Conducted initial exploration, internal testing, product strategy, prototyping and handoff
Building Employee Referrals: An Iterative and Outcome-Oriented Approach
Personio
The initiative wasn’t originally planned in the roadmap and had to be approached pragmatically. Within just seven weeks, we delivered an MVP-sized version of employee referrals, which saw strong adoption and rounded out the feature offering in Recruiting.
My Role
Responsible team designer, driving the project. Conducted initial exploration, internal testing, product strategy, prototyping and handoff
Building Employee Referrals: An Iterative and Outcome-Oriented Approach
Personio
The initiative wasn’t originally planned in the roadmap and had to be approached pragmatically. Within just seven weeks, we delivered an MVP-sized version of employee referrals, which saw strong adoption and rounded out the feature offering in Recruiting.
My Role
Responsible team designer, driving the project. Conducted initial exploration, internal testing, product strategy, prototyping and handoff
How can we ship a employee referrals product with just 6 weeks?
2nd most reported feature gap
As reported by our customers , employee referrals was one of the most needed features in Personio Recruiting.
2nd most reported feature gap
As reported by our customers , employee referrals was one of the most needed features in Personio Recruiting.
2nd most reported feature gap
As reported by our customers , employee referrals was one of the most needed features in Personio Recruiting.
Employee Referrals, a Trusted and Free Resource in Recruiting
Employee referrals are a preferred resource for recruiters because they often lead to faster, more reliable hires. Referred candidates typically align better with company culture and have higher retention rates, making the recruitment process more efficient and cost-effective.
Employee Referrals, a Trusted and Free Resource in Recruiting
Employee referrals are a preferred resource for recruiters because they often lead to faster, more reliable hires. Referred candidates typically align better with company culture and have higher retention rates, making the recruitment process more efficient and cost-effective.
Employee Referrals, a Trusted and Free Resource in Recruiting
Employee referrals are a preferred resource for recruiters because they often lead to faster, more reliable hires. Referred candidates typically align better with company culture and have higher retention rates, making the recruitment process more efficient and cost-effective.
Not anticipated in the roadmap, that's why we had to be pragmatic
The project came in unexpectedly late, after initial roadmap discussions had already wrapped up. This required some reshuffling and alignment across teams. As a triad, we proposed taking on the initiative with a pragmatic MVP scope. After securing stakeholder buy-in, we kicked off the discovery phase.
Not anticipated in the roadmap, that's why we had to be pragmatic
The project came in unexpectedly late, after initial roadmap discussions had already wrapped up. This required some reshuffling and alignment across teams. As a triad, we proposed taking on the initiative with a pragmatic MVP scope. After securing stakeholder buy-in, we kicked off the discovery phase.
Not anticipated in the roadmap, that's why we had to be pragmatic
The project came in unexpectedly late, after initial roadmap discussions had already wrapped up. This required some reshuffling and alignment across teams. As a triad, we proposed taking on the initiative with a pragmatic MVP scope. After securing stakeholder buy-in, we kicked off the discovery phase.
Mapping Persona Journeys, to Inform Initiative Scoping
Through a concise journey mapping exercise, we defined the ideal experience to guide scoping and inform decisions—focusing on high-impact outcomes with minimal complexity.
Mapping Persona Journeys, to Inform Initiative Scoping
Through a concise journey mapping exercise, we defined the ideal experience to guide scoping and inform decisions—focusing on high-impact outcomes with minimal complexity.
Mapping Persona Journeys, to Inform Initiative Scoping
Through a concise journey mapping exercise, we defined the ideal experience to guide scoping and inform decisions—focusing on high-impact outcomes with minimal complexity.
Journey mapping of all three involved Personas, the Referrer, Recruiter and HR Admin.
Hurdles in product adoption
Given the limited scope of the initiative, some trade-offs were necessary to stay on schedule. Automated feature activation was replaced with a more manual process as there was dependency with another (not available) team, leading to potential adoption challenges. To mitigate this, the team implemented a subtle in-app campaign to drive awareness and engagement.
Hurdles in product adoption
Given the limited scope of the initiative, some trade-offs were necessary to stay on schedule. Automated feature activation was replaced with a more manual process as there was dependency with another (not available) team, leading to potential adoption challenges. To mitigate this, the team implemented a subtle in-app campaign to drive awareness and engagement.
Hurdles in product adoption
Given the limited scope of the initiative, some trade-offs were necessary to stay on schedule. Automated feature activation was replaced with a more manual process as there was dependency with another (not available) team, leading to potential adoption challenges. To mitigate this, the team implemented a subtle in-app campaign to drive awareness and engagement.
A subtle in-app campaign helped us drive adoption.
While scope of the feature was manageable, there were still plenty of touchpoints.
Small Functionality with High Impact
Key functionality included the initial setup, adding a candidate to the system, notifying referrers, and marking the candidate as referred with the appropriate properties. Although limited in scope, the feature was tested and deemed fully satisfactory by the internal team.
Small Functionality with High Impact
Key functionality included the initial setup, adding a candidate to the system, notifying referrers, and marking the candidate as referred with the appropriate properties. Although limited in scope, the feature was tested and deemed fully satisfactory by the internal team.
Small Functionality with High Impact
Key functionality included the initial setup, adding a candidate to the system, notifying referrers, and marking the candidate as referred with the appropriate properties. Although limited in scope, the feature was tested and deemed fully satisfactory by the internal team.
Built a fast prototype to communicate the MVP scope. Deliberately kept parts of the UI minimal to keep stakeholders focused on what matters.
7 weeks
From the initial idea to shipping the functionality. Unfortunately it took a bit longer then planned but still ok. 🫠
7 weeks
From the initial idea to shipping the functionality. Unfortunately it took a bit longer then planned but still ok. 🫠
7 weeks
From the initial idea to shipping the functionality. Unfortunately it took a bit longer then planned but still ok. 🫠
Good adoption and next steps
Within the first four weeks after rollout, over 12,000 employee referrals were submitted—an encouraging sign of strong adoption. A follow-up sprint was scheduled to further automate the feature once the in-app automation team became available.
Good adoption and next steps
Within the first four weeks after rollout, over 12,000 employee referrals were submitted—an encouraging sign of strong adoption. A follow-up sprint was scheduled to further automate the feature once the in-app automation team became available.
Good adoption and next steps
Within the first four weeks after rollout, over 12,000 employee referrals were submitted—an encouraging sign of strong adoption. A follow-up sprint was scheduled to further automate the feature once the in-app automation team became available.
Personal Learnings
I learned that being pragmatic doesn’t mean compromising on quality—as long as you stay focused on what truly matters for users to complete their tasks. Making these decisions together with product stakeholders helped the initiative run smoothly and without road blocks.
Personal Learnings
I learned that being pragmatic doesn’t mean compromising on quality—as long as you stay focused on what truly matters for users to complete their tasks. Making these decisions together with product stakeholders helped the initiative run smoothly and without road blocks.
Personal Learnings
I learned that being pragmatic doesn’t mean compromising on quality—as long as you stay focused on what truly matters for users to complete their tasks. Making these decisions together with product stakeholders helped the initiative run smoothly and without road blocks.
Copyright © 2025 by Robin Biechl. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2025 by Robin Biechl. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2025 by Robin Biechl. All rights reserved.